Democrats who control the California Senate said they are moving to increase oversight of hundreds of state special funds by passing a bill Tuesday despite objections from Republicans who claimed they are trying to whitewash a scandal in the state parks department.

AB1487 clarifies and expands reporting requirements for more than 500 special funds scattered throughout the state budget. The funds come from fees and other levies, not general taxes.

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The legislation is a response to the recent revelation of nearly $54 million in two special funds, with balances that were deliberately underreported by officials at the Department of Parks and Recreation. The funds were kept hidden even as local governments and nonprofit organizations contributed money to keep open 70 parks that were threatened with closure in July because of budget cuts.

The measure, which now goes to the Assembly, requires the state controller and the Department of Finance to use the same accounting methods in calculating the balances of special funds and compare their figures to catch surpluses and deficits. The controller's office has said it had accurate calculations for the parks funds, but the balances were underreported to the Finance Department and the Legislature.

The bill responds to lawmakers' "individual and collective outrage and dismay" over the parks scandal, said Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who carried the bill. With the proposed safeguards, he said finance officials are satisfied that the fund discrepancies "will never happen again."

"This is a good government measure and should set us on the right track for years to come," Leno said.

But several Republican lawmakers said more investigation is needed at the parks department and throughout state government. They objected that they were blocked from putting state officials under oath at a recent oversight hearing into the problems.

"We have no idea what happened in this crisis, and this measure is a minor little Band-Aid to put over a scandal that I think is much larger," said Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Redlands.

Leno responded that an independent audit and a Department of Justice investigation also are under way in the parks department.

Sen. Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach, said the bill should also prohibit improper use of special funds, as well as unauthorized vacation buyouts by state employees similar to one that was also uncovered at the parks department.

"Who are we kidding? There's all kinds of things that need to be in this bill but are not. It's just eyewash that fails to address the wasteful spending" throughout state government, Harman said. "It's a political maneuver, trying to get cover to some actions in the Department of Parks that are absolutely terrible."